Round 4 action of the Hunter Haval Black Diamond Cup this Saturday sees Newcastle City at home at No.1 Sportsground for the first time this year, hosting Warners Bay. A potential blockbuster ensues at Hylton Moore Oval, with the clashof the only two remaining undefeated teams; Terrigal Avoca and Cardiff. The BARTV Match of the Round is at Dick Burwell Oval in Nelson Bay, with Killarney Vale making the trek to the Tomaree Peninsula to play the Nelson Bay Marlins.A top of the table clash between undefeated competition leaders is always a mouth-watering proposition, and this Saturday’s fixture between visitors Cardiff and Terrigal Avoca should be a cracker.

Terrigal Avoca have been very convincing in the first three rounds, getting better each week in victories over the Bombers, Blues and Marlins. New coach Mark Skuse has the backline in superb form, shutting down forward lines and workingin numbers to both repel attacks and rebounding via key backmen Corey Billins, James Hart, Will McKellar and veteran Alastair Richardson.

Skuse will be very happy with his options down forward, with Jayson Van Dam, Doug Clark and small forward Brandon Thomas amongst the goals last week. Kurt Fleming is arguably the best player in the competition at the moment andhis ball winning ability along, with veteran Chris Bishop ensures there forwards get plenty of opportunities.

Cardiff have had a perfect start to the season, with three wins but they have not faced the might of the Panthers on their home ground.

New recruits Tom Yensch, Simon O’Brien and Marcus De Lear give the Hawks real grunt and class on the ball. Zac Metcalfe is the general of the backline, working in harmony with Chad Mayo and Nick Chapman. Burly forward Cam Jones is an ideal foil for sharp-shooter Aaron Wivell, and their combination will only improve in coming weeks.

Newcastle City produced a solid performance last start away to Killarney Vale. They will need to continue this form against Warners Bay, who sorely tested undefeated Cardiff last week.

City will be sweating on the return of key forward Nick Gill and rebounding halfback flanker Jake Hartikainen this week. In Gill’s absence, Max Quinlan (6 goals) and the versatile Abe Gibson (3 goals) produced the goods up forward for the Blues. The return of the outstanding Aaron Seen made a significant difference to City’s clearance work, supported by Sam Payne.

Warners Bay gave Cardiff a real fright for three quarters last Saturday, before fading late as Cardiff’s senior players took control. Bulldogs coach Marty Reiman has a very young and inexperienced squad in 2017, and views the first few weeks of the season as important development for his young charges.

A combination of injury and discipline issues have meant a difficult start to the season at Feighan Oval. Lachlan Deverell is shining in the backline, newcomer Ben Kernahan provides in an under support for Jake Roach and the ruck duo ofBen Crawley and Swans Academy player Tom McDonell are developing a strong combination. The Bulldogs will be missing key midfielder, Ben Hunter due to suspension which will be a big blow.

The BARTV Match of the Round sees hosts Nelson Bay up against Killarney Vale in an intriguing fixture between two teams with identical 1-2 records.

After a fine win in Round 1 over Warners Bay and a very close loss to undefeated Cardiff, the Marlins outfit were hammered by Terrigal Avoca last week. The expected return of ruckman Billy Barton and midfielder Harry Freund thisSaturday will be a bonus for coach Sean McGrath however new recruit Tim Davison will be out for at least a month with a hamstring injury.

At full strength, Nelson Bay has one of the best midfields in the competition, with Barton and Freund joined by the Dews brothers, Matthew and Louis, Jeremy Eddy, Nathan Vaisey plus swingman Luke Price and the exquisite skills of Elliott Davey Medallist Jayden Rymer. Chris Eddy is performing very well is his new role deep in the backline, whilst the evergreen Aaron Clayden keeps producing on a consistent basis.

Killarney Vale went toe to toe with City for three quarters last week, but cannot afford another first-quarter lapse this week as the Marlins are excellent frontrunners who love the wide-open spaces of their beloved Dick Burwell Oval.

Coach Scott Reed and White will again be missing however skipper Josh Mifsud should return. Reed appears to have found a key forward in youngster Harley Bernleitner, who kicked five of Killarney Vale’s eight goals last week. WhilstDarwin recruit Beau Cubillo is showing plenty of promise.

Round 4 Black Diamond Plate action this week sees Lake Macquarie away to Gosford; Wyong Lakes host near neighbour The Entrance Bateau Bay; the potential match of the round sees Maitland host Newcastle City at Max McMahon Oval and Muswellbrook play their first home game in the Plate against local rival Singleton on Nathan Duncan Memorial Shield Day at Weeraman Field. Terrigal Avoca has the Bye.

Round 4 of the GE Womens Competition takes place this Saturday. Gosford host Lake Macquarie; Nelson Bay face a serious challenge when they host in-form Killarney Vale; Wyong Lakes are at home to Cardiff; the Newcastle Novas hostWarners Bay at No.1 Sportsground; Maitland face the daunting task of hosting the undefeated Newcastle City and Singleton head to Muswellbrook for their firstever local derby against Muswellbrook.